Trainee development

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The trainee development stream recognises the learning opportunities your organisation provides for its employees working towards either the ACCA Qualification or the Certified Accounting Technician qualification (part of the Foundations in Accountancy suite of awards).

There are two levels of approval – gold and platinum. The scheme is accessible to all and the level of approval awarded reflects the support your organisation provides to trainees. It is also progressive, enabling organisations approved at gold level to work towards a higher level of approval.

We will review the learning and support your organisation provides, focusing on study support and the provision of suitable practical experience. The criteria for becoming an Approved Employer in this stream can be found in the Approved Employer assessment matrix (available from the Related documents box at the bottom of this page).

Simplifying your trainees' membership application process

An advantage of becoming an ACCA Approved Employer – trainee development is that your trainees’ practical experience requirement could be simplified.

To achieve ACCA membership a trainee has to complete the ACCA exams, the Professional Ethics module and the PER, which requires:

completing three years' employment in an accounting or finance-related role(s)

answering the challenge questions for 13 performance objectives and having these reviewed and signed off by a workplace mentor

recording and reporting their PER progress through an online recording system called My Experience.

If your organisation becomes a gold or platinum ACCA Approved Employer, you can decide whether or not your trainees can take advantage of the Performance Objective exemption available when working for an Approved Employer. This means that your trainees do not need to complete the challenge questions associated with each of our Performance Objectives required for membership.

This exemption reflects the fact that the organisation meets ACCA’s demanding criteria for trainee development, including having the policies and processes in place that allow trainees to meet the minimum requirements of ACCA’s PER. It means that ACCA has confidence in your organisation’s systems and processes and at the same time removes duplication of effort with regard to record keeping.

If this status is awarded, it should be emphasised that all ACCA trainees employed by your organisation still need to record the number of months relevant work experience they have gained using the online My Experience recording tool. However, this is a very quick and straightforward process.

Please note that it is you, the employer – not the trainee – who decides whether the trainee can claim the Performance Objective exemption.

If you prefer your trainees to complete the 13 Performance Objectives, they will need to have their challenge questions signed off by a Workplace Mentor. To learn more about the Practical Experience Requirement, the role of the Workplace Mentor and how to sign off achievement of Performance Objectives, visit the Workplace mentor section